University of the Pacific will become the permanent home for a collection of documents owned by naturalist and author, John Muir after the descendants of Muir donated the items to the university's Holt Atherton Collection and Archives.
A day long celebration this weekend on the UOP campus will honor the man known as "The Father of the National Parks" who lived between 1838 and 1914, traveling through much of the west and documenting what he saw.
The university will take ownership of 7000 letters, Muir's personal journals and notebooks which document his travels and thoughts about ecology, and natural wonders. Mike Wurtz, head of the UOP Holt Atherton Special Collections and Archives says they paint an intimate portrait of the man and offer clarity on Muir's most quoted passage: "The mountains are calling and I must go".
"It turns out what Muir actually wrote was, 'The mountains are calling and I must go and i will work on while I can, studying incessantly.' He wanted to understand the places he went to in the sierra but more importantly he wanted to work on and study and preserve these places".
To celebrate the Muir family's donation to the university, a day-long Muir event will happen Saturday at UOP. A one o'clock showing of the John Muir documentary, "The Unruly Mystic" will be followed by a Muir fair featuring a dozen organizations that carry Muir's message. The ceremony to officially acknowledge the donation is at 3 with a living history performance. You an view the entire collection online through the university archives at: